Dr. John Palasota Serves on Delta Epsilon Sigma Executive Board4/27/2011Dr. John Palasota, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, was elected to the Executive Board of Delta Epsilon Sigma, a national scholastic honor society for students, faculty, and alumni of colleges and universities with a Catholic tradition.

More than 100 colleges and universities have received charters to establish chapters of Delta Epsilon Sigma.

Operated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., the organization publishes the DES Journal, sponsors a national writing contest open to undergraduate students , grants student awards and gives scholarships and fellowships.

“I am very excited to serve on the Executive Board of an organization which fosters scholarly activities and encourages a sense of intellectual community among its members,” Palasota said.

Palasota earned a bachelor of science in chemistry and mathematics from the University of St. Thomas in 1989 and a doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Houston in 1993. He became a member of the full-time faculty in fall 2000, rising to the rank of associate professor and granted tenure in fall 2006. Dr. Palasota's previous administrative appointments include three years as Associate Dean of the School or Arts & Sciences and six years as Co-Director of the University's Pre-Health Professions Program.

Palasota is an active researcher in the areas of designed experiments and optimization strategies applied to the development, validation, and improvement of chemical, environmental, and biological technologies; developing analytical methods for high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography; and applying statistical methods to analytical and quality assurance data. He is the author or co-author of several publications and successful grant proposals and has madenumerous presentations in the fields of analytical chemistry, experimental design, and optimization. He is a member of the AmericanChemical Society and Sigma Xi.

University of St. Thomas
The University of St. Thomas, dedicated to educating leaders of faith and character, is a private institution committed to the liberal arts and to the religious, ethical and intellectual tradition of Catholic higher education. St. Thomas is Houston’s only Catholic University and was founded by the Basilian Fathers in 1947.